WIREDGOV

Extra funding for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships will create new jobs for graduates and help UK businesses to innovate and grow.

Innovate UK has announced an extra £30 million of funding for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), which connect UK businesses with an academic or research organisation and qualified graduate to work on innovation projects.

It will allow significant expansion of the KTP programme. Currently, there are 630 graduates and post-doctoral researchers employed in KTPs. These include industrial research and development and entrepreneurial roles.

This funding comes from government’s National Productivity Investment Fund. It will help to build the pipeline of high-skilled research talent necessary for a growing innovation economy.

The investment was announced today at Innovate 2017.

Businesses of all sizes

Businesses that have previously taken part in KTPs include Dyson, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury’s and Unilever. Baby food brand, Ella’s Kitchen, has run 3 schemes, working with the University of Reading.

The majority of KTPs are made up of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - around 80% of all those run.

Stimulating innovation and producing successful outcomes

Fionnuala Costello, Innovate UK’s Head of Open Programmes, said:

We are committing significantly more funding this year on KTPs. This enables an increase to the scheme, with additional KTPs becoming more closely aligned to Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund areas.

Companies that have used KTPs know their development value in bringing in excellent staff with cutting-edge academic knowledge. The current tried-and-tested model is widely recognised - and proven over 40 years of operation - for its excellence in stimulating innovation and producing successful outcomes.

There are many innovative companies, particularly SMEs, which could benefit from the academic mentoring that a KTP provides.